Cardboard Castles
by Holz9364
Summary: Set in the future. Following a discussion with her daughter Lisbon goes to visit Jane. Better than it sounds I promise!


_Cardboard Castles_

_**A/N - I got the idea for this whilst making a video of mine called 'Teresa Lisbon - Cardboard Castles' which is on youtube =)**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!**_

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><p>Every teenage girls best friend is their Mom. Their Mom is the person they can talk to when something is going wrong or when a huge decision presents itself and they don't know what to do, their Mom always knows what to do.<p>

Lucy was in that position as she stood awkwardly at the patio door, waiting for her Mothers car to pull into the street. She'd been standing there for about 10 minutes before the silver car pulled up and her Mom came out, she instantly knew something was up when she saw her daughter and once she was in the house she sat down across from her on the porch.

"What's wrong?"

Lucy sighed, biting her lip, "Danny asked me to move in with him." She waited, expecting her Mom to be mad, but she wasn't.

She appeared to be deep in thought, "And, are you sure its what you want?"

Lucy was surprised by this response but she nodded and her Mom smiled, "Then go for it."

Lucy's eyes widened, "Really? You're not mad?"

Her Mom shook her head, she sighed, "I'm not mad because I know what it's like to want something really badly and not go for it when you have the chance. I don't want you to miss your chance."

Lucy smiled softly at her Mothers words, "I just…I love him so much. I feel like my heart is going to explode when he smiles at me and I feel like I could spend forever just being with him because he's so amazing and gentle and kind." She smiled broadly, "Have you ever felt like that?"

Teresa nodded, reminiscing, "I have." She said with a smile.

Lucy didn't notice the odd look on her Mothers face as she rushed off to tell her boyfriend the good news.

Teresa had a sudden urge and she stood, calling up the stairs to her 13 year old son, "Patrick, I'm going out!"

She heard a muffled, "Okay Mom." and then she was in her car driving in the direction of a place she knew well.

When she arrived it was quiet. Teresa walked through the gate and looked around for a moment, the last time it had been Autumn and everything had been orange, now that it was Spring colour bloomed everywhere. The entire place was bright and beautiful and full of life.

She walked for around 5 minutes before she found the spot she was looking for and then she sat down on the warm grass. Teresa crossed her legs and smiled, "Hi. I know it's been a while since I visited, but things have been busy. Lucy just finished her exams and now she's going to college and moving in with her boyfriend. You'd be proud of her."

The wind whistled around Teresa and the grass and flowers swayed, she continued, "She has finally made her mind up and she's studying politics and English in the Fall. Patrick still has no idea what he wants to do, he just sits up in his room playing his games all day."

"Work has been more busy than ever. Bertram is breathing down my neck lately. We have this new consultant on Cho's team, he's called Richard Castle, he's a writer. He reminds me of you in the way that he breaks all the rules and doesn't take orders from anyone. He lost the woman he loved in a shooting and he moved all the way over from the East Coast with his family. It made me think of how easy it would have been to do that, to just leave it all behind, but I think staying made me stronger."

Teresa sighed as the wind picked up around her, she'd have to go soon, she checked her watch and groaned, "I'll have to get back, the kids will be hungry. I miss you so much Patrick."

Teresa stood, laying flowers down at the foot of the grave, her eyes tracing over the words on the stone, 'Here lies Patrick Jane, beloved Husband and Father. Died 5th of June 2023.'

With a final glance at the stone Teresa got back into the car and drove home, once home she saw that Lucy's car was in the driveway so she was back from her boyfriends house. When she walked in Lucy frowned at her, "Where have you been?"

Teresa replied, "Oh I was just visiting your-"

"Dad!"

She had been interrupted by the opening of the door and Lucy ran over to the man in the doorway, hugging him tightly, "Mom said I could move in with Danny!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "She did, did she?"

Lucy grinned, nodding, "She said if it was what I really wanted I should do it."

He smiled, "I think so too honey, if you are sure its what you want to do then go for it."

Lucy hugged him again and turned to her Mom, "Mom, what's for…"

Lucy trailed off when she saw the tears on her Mothers face, she looked to her Dad who just said quietly, "Go to your room, I'll handle this." With a nod Lucy left the room.

"Teresa, what's wrong?"

"I visited Patrick today Walter."

Walter seemed to understand as he sat down next to her on the sofa, "You haven't visited in a while."

"I've been busy and I wanted to tell him about Lucy getting into college." Teresa said, her eyes staring into the distance as if she was deep in thought.

"Why are you crying Teresa?" Walter asked, gently placing an arm around his Wife's shoulders.

Teresa looked down, "She was only 6 when he died, and Patrick had just turned one." She said quietly.

"At least they don't remember it." Walter said, as if this was some small comfort.

Teresa looked up with a fire burning in her eyes through the tears, "They don't remember him." She corrected, "He's their father and they don't remember him. In all of the photos of the first 6 years of Lucy's life he is there. He's not some guy in the background, he's the man holding her at the hospital. He's the man holding her at the christening. He's the hand that helped her open her presents on her first Christmas. He's the feet in the photo of her riding her bike alone for the first time. He's the voice in the video recordings telling her to walk across the room to him, he's the laugh when she took those first steps. He's the arms she'd cuddle into when she was cold or sick."

Teresa looked up at Walter, the pain in her eyes so clear to him, "One day soon she's going to look at those photos and not know the difference anymore. One day she's going to think that the hand is you, that the feet are you, that the laugh is you, and it's not Walter."

Walter nodded, "I know, Teresa I'm not trying to replace him."

Teresa didn't seem to have heard him, "And Patrick…He was one when his father was shot and he saw it and don't get me wrong I'm glad he doesn't remember that but he was sitting on the floor when that madman came in and shot his father. He watched his father lying on the floor bleeding out and he knew something was wrong because he cried so much and he wouldn't sleep for days."

Teresa's eyes were glazed over with tears, "Patrick has even less than Lucy. She has those 6 years, she has 6 years of photographs to prove his existence, 6 birthday parties, 6 Christmases, 6 Thanksgivings, she has the photographs and the video tapes but Patrick only has baby photo's and Walter don't you see, when he looks back at those photo's he doesn't understand. He doesn't know that the hand that helped him open his presents was Patrick's, he doesn't know that the arms in the photo of his christening are Patrick's, he thinks they belong to you because the feet when he rode his bike alone are yours and the arms that held him when he was sick are yours and the voice and the laugh when he walked his first steps are yours."

Teresa eventually turned to her Husband, whose hand was in hers but who knew her heart was never his, "They don't know their Father Walter and although I love you and you have been amazing with them and love them as your own, we both know that to me they aren't your children."

Walter nodded, "I know that Teresa. I know that when you look at Patrick's blue eyes and Lucy's blonde hair that you see him, every time you look at your children you are reminded of him and yes they may not remember him clearly, but they are lucky that they have us, they are lucky they have parents who love each other and love them." He smiled a little, squeezing her hand and kissing her gently on the forehead.

Teresa nodded, "Thank you." She said softly.

Walter smiled and stood up from the sofa, "I'll put dinner on." He offered and he walked away into the kitchen.

He'd barely been gone for a minute when Lucy walked back into the room. It was clear from her red eyes that she had been crying and Lisbon realised with horror that she had been listening at the door.

Lucy sat down in Walter's vacated seat, "I didn't forget him." She said softly, grabbing her Mother's hand, "I remember my 6th birthday party. I remember him dancing in with the cake and woo-ing all my friends with his tricks."

The words only made Teresa try even harder to hold her tears back, Lucy smiled a little through her own tears, "Walter's been here for 12 years of my life so of course I see him as my Dad, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about the man who fed me and carried me around the CBI offices when you were out on the field working."

Teresa smiled at her daughter, she was so mature, she pulled her into a hug, "Thank you sweetie." She said softly.

Lucy hugged her Mom back, smiling as she did so, there were some things and people she'd never forget. Her Dad was one of those but she knew he was watching over them all and from everything she remembered and had been told she knew that her Dad would have just wanted the best for her Mom and for them. If he really was watching over them then he would be happy that her Mom was happy and that she and Patrick were happy.

**The End =)**

**A/N - Sorry for the sad angsty nature of this fic but I hope you all enjoyed it anyways!**

**Thanks for Reading! x**


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